Romulan Star Empire
The Romulan Star Empire is an interstellar authoritarian state and one of the major factions in Star Trek. It has long been defined by its xenophobic views and its tendency to rely on subterfuge and espionage over direct warfare with its neighbours. By the 23rd century, the Romulans were known as one of the greatest powers in the Alpha and Beta quadrants. They have long been enemies of both the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. History For a full account of Romulan history, click here. The Romulans originated from dissident Vulcans who rejected Surak's philosophy of peace, during the Time of Awakening and emigrated from their homeworld around the 4th century. They settled on the planets Romulus and Remus, subjugating the native Remans in the process. The development of warp drive enabled the Romulans to expand their state into an interstellar empire. In 2152, the Romulans came into contact with the Human starship Enterprise. Relations between the Empire and United Earth deteriorated as the Enterprise crew thwarted a Romulan plot to subvert the Vulcan High Command. Recognizing the growing threat posed by Earth, the Romulans attempted to incite war in the region by attacking civilian shipping using disguised drones. The effort, however, backfired, as their involvement was exposed by Enterprise and spurred the formation of an alliance between the Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites, the nucleus of what would become the United Federation of Planets. Open war erupted between Earth and the Romulans in 2156, ending four years later with a humiliating Romulan defeat at the Battle of Cheron. An ensuing peace treaty established the Romulan Neutral Zone, after which the Romulans had no substantial contact with Humans for a century. In 2266, the Romulans tested Federation resolve by sending a Bird-of-Prey to attack Federation outposts along the Neutral Zone. The defeat of the Bird-of-Prey by the USS Enterprise averted war. During this period, the Romulans experienced a short-lived break in their enmity with the Klingons, resulting in a technological exchange between the two. The Romulans viewed the 2293 Khitomer Accords between the Federation and the Klingon Empire unfavorably, as it shifted the balance of power against them. Escalating hostilities between the Star Empire and the Federation culminated in the Tomed Incident of 2311 and the Treaty of Algeron. The Romulans again ceased meaningful contact with the Federation, though they continued to war intermittently with the Klingons. In 2364, the Empire began to engage once more with the Federation, following a series of mysterious attacks on their Neutral Zone outposts. These attacks were, in fact, carried out by the Borg Collective, though neither Starfleet nor the Romulans would learn of the Collective's existence until a year later. For the latter part of the 2360s, the Romulans were locked in a cold war with the Federation, launching repeated probes of Federation space and subversive actions. Most significantly, they attempted to break the Federation-Klingon alliance, resulting in the Klingon Civil War, and to exploit the Vulcan reunification movement to invade Vulcan. Both plans were unsuccessful. The Empire's position shifted when violent contact with the Dominion in 2370 presented a common threat to all Alpha Quadrant powers. The Romulans collaborated with Starfleet in a limited fashion to counter the Dominion threat, though ultimately they opted to sign a nonaggression pact with the Dominion in late 2373. In mid-2374, the Romulans were brought into the Dominion War on the Allied side through an act of subterfuge by Benjamin Sisko and Elim Garak. Romulan participation marked a turning point in the war and was critical to the defeat of the Dominion the following year. In the war's aftermath, Shinzon seized control of the Empire and attempted to launch a genocidal attack on Earth, only to be stopped by the USS Enterprise-E. It was hoped, by members of both sides, that a lasting peace between the Romulans and the Federation would follow. In 2387, the Empire suffered a major setback when the supernova of a nearby star destroyed Romulus. Government The ruling body of the Romulan Star Empire was the Romulan Senate, with each senator representing a province. The Senate was led by the Praetor, followed by the Proconsul and then the Vice-proconsul. The Praetor also presided over the Continuing Committee, a powerful body that held authority over Senate members. Changes of government and attendant shifts in policy occurred frequently in the Empire. In external application, Romulan political agendas appeared largely unified over the centuries. Their goals focused on maintaining Imperial security through vigilance, and negating the perceived advantages of their rivals. Both goals were accompanied by a near-paranoid reticence to reveal information, even facts as basic as their racial identity, that might illuminate other Romulan ambitions or motivations. Short of war, the means to those ends have generally varied between favoured methods, including the surreptitious disruption of political rivals and covert military action. The Empire did resort to open warfare when it was deemed necessary, but in typical fashion, their reasons for war were less than candidly expressed, as in the Earth-Romulan War and the enigmatic Tomed Incident of 2311. Unlike the Klingon objectives of the Federation-Klingon War of 2267, Romulans do not appear to have gone to war with neighbouring powers under a flag of "expansion", and no competition existed for the development of class M worlds along the Romulan Neutral Zone. Romulans expressed little resentment for the negotiated Zone they zealously guarded, and following their conflicts, the Empire withdrew behind the safety of the buffer for many decades of self-imposed isolation from Federation affairs. In 2379, after a joint Romulan-Federation effort to thwart the plans of then-Praetor Shinzon, the Romulans began looking into the possibility of establishing a lasting friendship with the Federation. It is unknown what became of these plans after Romulus was destroyed in 2387. Culture The emblem of the Romulan Star Empire is known as "the Eagle". It is a symbol of military might and honour, displayed on the bridge of every Romulan warship, yet also symbolizes civilian pride in the Romulan state, and is found at public facilities throughout the Empire. Romulan officers, and sometimes civilians, swear oaths upon the Eagle, and defacing the symbol is considered a serious offense. The original inspiration for the design came when the family emblem of S'task, one of the original Romulan pioneers from the Time of Awakening, was crossed with an artistic representation of an avian life-form native to Romulus. The first scout parties to chart the Romulan's new homeworld encountered huge eagles carrying their eggs in their talons; today the Eagle grasps Romulus and Remus in its claws. The former is gripped protectively, indeed as a mother cradles an egg, the latter, held in thinner, sharper claws, appears instead as a prey item. The bird itself is spread in an aggressive posture of display, representing the glory and majesty of the Star Empire. Its head is positioned with the beak pointing down, mirroring the triangle on which it is mounted. This triangle recalls the Vulcan Kol-ut-shan, the symbol of Surak's philosophies, which were without end, but began at a single point, Mount Seleya. The Romulans have used the same design, representative of the (one-sided) noble hatred and honourable feud between S'task's followers and Surak's. On the Romulan banner, however, the point of beginning is missing, as the triangle's point is detached from any anchoring symbol. This, of course, is because Mount Seleya has been left far behind. Vulcan philosophies, here taken to mean the passionate warrior culture Surak destroyed, are still presented as being without end, widening out and leading the entire galaxy into the glory of the Romulan Empire, whose perfect strength and honour is announced by the slogan always displayed at the inverted triangle's top. It should also be noted that the triangle resembles a dagger, especially as it is coloured in a dull metallic silver. The fact that the Eagle's beak mirrors the triangle, pointing with the dagger and looking back towards the sundered beginning, serves to make the symbol an aggressive attack on Surak's Vulcan, which, while clearly out of sight, can never be out of mind. The emblem as a whole is split into two halves, the Romulus side, on the left, colored in blood-green to symbolize aggressive strength and passion; the right-hand side, featuring Remus, rendered an icy blue. The image of the Eagle is mirrored in the design of Romulan warships, which are known as "Birds-of-Prey" or "Warbirds". Subordinate warriors within the military, especially young cadets, are also frequently referred to as "Eaglets". The Star Empire is driven by a martial philosophy which preaches the dictates of duty, glory and obedience. The members of the military are filled with well trained and disciplined warriors who believe that serving the Star Empire is one of the highest honours available. Certain Romulans are known to believe in the concept of the strong controlling the weak. As such, should weakness be perceived by the Romulans, then it can very well lead to an act of war on the part of the Star Empire. The primary information service within the Star Empire is the Romulan Central Information Net. Access is highly restricted and it was protected by a progressive encryption lock which featured a forty-three part cypher key. The Klingons spent many years attempting to crack the database but failed to do so, however with assistance from Ambassador Spock, Lieutenant Commander Data was able to break into the system. Within Romulan society, condemned criminals are allowed a Right of Statement which allows the accused to state fully the reasons they committed their actions. There is no regulation on the content of the material provided. Legal intercessors may be involved in legal matters. Military The Romulan military was a powerful and technologically advanced force encompassing both spacefaring and ground forces. Despite being defeated by Earth in the Earth-Romulan War of the 2150s, the Romulan Star Empire continued to be a powerful presence, not afraid to tempt Starfleet by entering the Neutral Zone. Romulan forces were a deciding factor in the Dominion War, whose entry in 2374 turned the tide of war in favor of the Allies. Romulan military operations were supported by the War Plans Council, a high-level government agency. Besides regular forces, the Romulan Tal Shiar also had its own fleet of starships, and were a ruthless and powerful organization within the Empire and beyond. Territories Below is a list of known Romulan territories. * Romulus - Capital planet of the Romulan Star Empire, settled by the Romulan ancestors in the 4th century. It appeared to be a temperate planet, which harboured numerous large bodies of water. Although both planets orbited their central star, Romulus and Remus were often referred to as twin planets. The planet was destroyed in 2387 when the Hobus star went supernova. * Remus - Home planet of the Remans. Remus is tidally locked, with one side always facing the sun, making that half of the planet uninhabitable. The Remans live on the dark side of the planet and have evolved to thrive in absolute darkness. Remus is valued by the Romulans for its vast wealth of dilithium, which is used to fuel starships. The Remans themselves are a slave caste in the Empire and are forced to work in the expansive mines beneath the planet's surface. Remus shared Romulus' fate when it was engulfed by the Hobus supernova. * Chaltok IV - In the 23rd century, Chaltok IV was the location of a Romulan research colony. The colony was nearly destroyed during the testing of a polaric energy device, which led to the signing of the Polaric Test Ban Treaty in 2268. * Carraya IV - Fourth planet of the Carraya system, located in the Federation-Romulan Neutral Zone. Covered in dense jungle, this planet was the site of a secret Romulan prison camp where the Romulans held Klingon survivors of the Khitomer Massacre. * Khitomer - Former site of a Klingon colony, the Romulans attacked Khitomer in 2346, killing 4000 colonists. As of 2369, Khitomer has been confirmed to be within the Romulan Empire's borders, though it is unknown if the Romulans have established any permanent presence there. * Benzar - Homeworld of the Benzite race and a member of the United Federation of Planets. Benzar was conquered by the Dominion in 2374 during the Dominion War, but was liberated by the Romulans shortly after. The Romulans are not known for giving up territory once it has been claimed and it has not been confirmed whether or not the Federation reclaimed the planet after the war. Ship Classes For a list of known Romulan ship designs, click here. Category:Star Trek Category:Military Category:Hegemony Category:Empires Category:Governments Category:Romulan Star Empire